Tea Quiero
by Allis0nW0nd3rland
Summary: Alice hasn't been to Wonderland in a decade and it has become a faded figment of a past Alice isn’t even sure she remembers. But what happens when she goes back? Wonderland seems the same, but something has changed... And she has too. Hatter/Alice.
1. Prologue

The simple fact was that she had grown up. Once Alice Liddell turned thirteen, her visits to Wonderland slowly diminished as she blossomed into a teenager. It saddened the Wonderlandians to see a great friend disappear, but nobody could have stopped it from happening. The Tweedle brothers, the Hatter, the Hare, the Caterpillar, the Cheshire cat, the Walrus, the Duchess, the White Rabbit, and the Queen—_especially_ the Queen—all wondered (as they do quite often in Wonderland) where Alice had gone and how she was doing. Year after year Alice became more of a beloved memory lost to Time. By and by, the hope that Alice would one day return faded. Although eventually the Wonderlandians stopped talking about Alice, they never forgot her. They could not, after all she had done for them.

Unlike the inhabitants of Wonderland, however, Alice had nearly forgotten about the world beyond her mirror in the span of almost a decade. It was there in the back of her mind, yet each day the thought was pushed deeper back due to her college life. Wonderland became an afterthought, a faded figment of a past Alice wasn't even sure she remembered. After such a long time, even, it seemed like her adventures with grinning cats, tea parties, and royalty had been a pleasant series of dreams. Soon, the truth blended into fiction and one big dream was all Wonderland became.

That is precisely when Alice returned and found herself thinking that not much in Wonderland had changed, but something definitely _had… _and she never thought that her own reaction could bear such heavy consequence..

* * *

A/N: **"Tea Quiero" is a pun on 'Te Quiero' which translates into English as "I want you" BUT ACTUALLY is used more often to mean "I love you."** (I'm not a native Spanish speaker, please correct me if I'm wrong!)

The parents' and grandmother's names are all from the real Alice Liddell's parents and grandmother.

I was thinking it would be hard to believe that Alice could forget such a place as Wonderland, but then again, the memory is often misleading, and when we live in a world so consumed by reality, we start to forget that anything else could be possible. We stop believing. And I think that's what happened to Alice. Can you remember what you were into 9-10 years ago?

I tried to imitate the character's speech and motions from the show as close as possible.


	2. 1 Ambiguities

_Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear Alice, Happy Birthday to you!_

"Blow the candles out, dear! Make a wish come true!"

"Oh, I don't even know what to wish for, Dad!"

Alice contemplated a minute, then let a question slip through her lips,

"Hey, did you ever notice there is so much more to wish for when you're younger than when you're older?"

Brian, Alice's brother, chuckled, "Just because you're 22 now doesn't mean that you're old!" The room filled with laughter.

"I know, I just mean that kids wish for such fantastic things. Nonsensical things, but fantastic all the same."

Mrs. Liddell laughed, "Then perhaps you should wish for something you wanted as a child, but I'd wish something quick. Your father is eyeing that cake of yours something awful."

"I'm hungry!" Mr. Liddell protested.

Alice smiled at her family. "Okay. Just give me a few more seconds!"

Alice stared at the candles, each one slowly melting away, and she mulled over a few things in her head.

_I can't believe I'm making such a fuss over something so trivial. This is ridiculous._

She watched the candles dance as her father's words echoed in her mind.

"_Blow the candles out, dear! Make a wish come true!"_

Why did that sound so vaguely familiar?

_Wish… Wish wish wish! Oh! I know! How about… I wish something out of the ordinary would happen to make things interesting around here!_

With that, Alice took a deep breath and blew out the candles. Her family clapped and nodded with satisfaction.

"Finally some cake!" Mr. Liddell proclaimed, soon followed by laughter and Mrs. Liddell's sigh of slight exasperation. "I told you I was hungry!"

"We know, Dad," Alice said, "You'll have your cake and eat it too."

"Darn straight!" Mr. Liddell quipped, and a slice of fudge cake was placed right in front of him.

"So, Alice," her sister, Lori, started, "What did you wish for?"

Brian leapt in, "Oh you know she can't answer that or else it won't come true!" He smirked at his sister, "Plus, she probably wished for, you know, a new boyfriend."

Alice's eyes widened, "Brian! I did NOT!"

Alice had only a few boyfriends before, but they hadn't been anything serious. Matter of fact, she became rather bored with male antics after a few months of dating. She knew she should start looking for a _potential_ husband at her age, but she didn't worry about it. That was her parent's job.

"Oh, Honey," Mrs. Liddell sighed, "Remember the last boy you dated? He was so sweet, you know…"

"Yeah, Mom," Alice frowned, "but he was so timid and dull. At least some spontaneity would have been nice."

"Spontaneity is overrated, dear. Just look at your father,"

Mr. Liddell looked up, his mouth full of cake, "Hehhhhy! Wehll, she' kind uhf wight."

Alice and Brian chuckled. Their grandmother decided to change the subject, since she had been waiting to bring one up herself.

"Anyway, Henry, I'm still having that yard sale tomorrow. I was wondering if you, Lorina, and the kids wanted to stop by and go through some things."

Mrs. Liddell nodded, "Sure, Elizabeth! I'm not doing anything tomorrow, and neither are the kids, really. We'd be glad to help out."

"Oh thank you! I have so many things lying about. Even that old antique mirror you loved as a child, Alice. Remember it? I know it's somewhere…"

Alice looked puzzled, "A mirror?"

"Yes, dear," Lorina said, wiping her mouth with a napkin, "It used to be in your room. You used to tell us stories about going through it and having some lovely adventures. You were such an imaginative little girl! You don't remember?"

"I… did? It sounds familiar."

Lorina pointed a fork at her daughter, "Why yes! I can't believe you don't remember. You were so intent on it too. You didn't grow out of it for the longest time."

"Oh." Alice placed her cutlery down and stared at her plate, "I thought I had dreams like that or something."

"Possibly," said Brian, "You never know. Dreams can be really realistic."

"And sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. You definitely talked about it as a kid." Henry added, as he started shoveling more cake onto his plate, "Anyway, Mom, We'd love to help."

"Great!" the elder woman said. She clapped her hands together and clasped them tightly. "As for now, who says we bring out Alice's gifts?"

"Sounds good to me!" Alice chirped.

In the back of her mind, however, a certain uneasiness was developing. Why did those dreams about her mirror that she had as a child seem so foreign when obviously they had meant so much to her? Something didn't feel quite right about the way it had been mentioned. If they were just dreams, why did they feel so different to her when she tried to remember them?

* * *

Fingertips drummed on the table and the tea was passed around with little speech involved. This was a quiet day for the Mad Hatter, March Hare, and the Dormouse… Too quiet. Matter of fact, this wasn't normal for the Wonderland gang at all, but they had run out of silly things to talk about at the current moment in time. All three friends didn't like that.

"So… What are we gonna talk about?" The Hatter inquired to his friends.

Dormouse scrunched his tiny nose, "Uh… Jam flavors we wished would be made?"

Hare shook his head, "We talked about that yesterday…" he paused, "How about the most OUTRAGEOUS Wonderland celebrity battles?" The Hare stretched his arms out as if to suggest the size of such a battle.

Hatter wrinkled his nose to match Dormouse's, "No, we talked about that the day _before_ yesterday while the Queen was here and she wins every time."

"Oh yeah." Hare sighed, and he shrank back down into his seat.

"How about," Hatter paused, unsure of himself, "How about our good ol' times when Alice came around?"

Hare and Dormouse gasped and both their mouths gaped in shock. They looked around to make sure nobody had heard. Dormouse retreated into his teapot and Hare leaned in towards Hatter.

"Hatter! You know we haven't talked about Alice for a looooooong time! The Queen said that maybe if we didn't talk about her, she'd come back."

The Dormouse reappeared, but hung his head slightly, "Well that hasn't done much, has it? I wouldn't ruin it though. You never know, the Queen could be right."

Hare nodded and pointed to their petite buddy, "You know, Hatter, Dormouse has a point. Let's not think about it. It's too sad to think about anyway."

"No it's not!" Hatter smiled, "It's fun to remember things! Don't you remember when she asked us about our Halloween picnic or… or when she came to your magic show? How about your hypnotist show?"

Hare squinted and crossed his arms, "No. Not at all."

Hatter continued, "How about when we did her hair, or we helped her write that story? Or all the times she laughed at our mad jokes?"

Hare shook his head forcefully, "Nope!"

Dormouse retreated to his teapot once more. He knew that once Hatter wanted to make a point… The Hatter stood up out of his chair.

"I remember, Hare! I remember when she sang songs, and helped me with the Queen's auction, and picked out some hat designs when I couldn't even pick one out myself, and I remember that she was with all our friends when you came to see how I was feeling after I had my tonsils taken out! I remember! Why can't you?"

"BECAUSE I KNOW THAT ALICE IS PROBABLY NEVER COMING BACK!"

Hare had shouted across the table. Hatter's jaw quivered and he slowly sat down. Hare covered his mouth, flabbergasted, and continued to slouch until he was face down on the table. Hatter stared off into space.

"You really think so, Hare?" he whispered.

Hare looked up. He was clearly ashamed.

"I don't know, Hatter. I just don't know."

The Hatter reached a gloved hand over the table and added honey to his tea before taking a large gulp.

"I really, really hope not, Hare."

* * *

Not so far away, The Queen of Hearts was at her throne, bored just as much as the Hare and Hatter were. She had taken up reading a book for the next hour when she was interrupted by a low throaty rumble. The Queen looked up from her reading.

"I can hear you, Cat. What is it that you want?"

The Cheshire Cat materialized fully in the air.

"Darrrrrnit. I thought purrrrhaps I could sneak up on you."

The Queen chuckled softly, "I've known you far too long for you to sneak up on me, Cheshire. Is there a reason for interrupting my story? It just got to the part where the beautiful beloved Queen is introduced."

Cheshire grinned his usual sneaky grin.

"Well, yes your Majesty, there is. You see, I was purrrracticing my amazing skills," he disappeared and left his eyes and smile behind to demonstrate, "over near the Hatterrrr's and you wouldn't believe what I hearrrrrd."

The Queen smiled and leaned forward, interested in the cat's gossip.

"Really, Cheshire. What did you hear? Was it about your Queen?"

The cat's body reappeared and its tail wagged slightly.

"No your Majesty. Rather, it was about Alice,"

The Queen's eyes widened "Go on."

"Well," the cat said, "Hatterrr started talking about how we should still talk about her, but the Hare refused to listen, saying that Alice would never be coming back anyway."

"Those chuckleheads," the Queen said loudly, "What else did they say?"

The cat started to disappear again.

"I don't really rememberrrr. You should ask them yourself."

The Queen pounded a fist on her throne, "That cat! He can be such a nuisance. RABBIT! RAAAAABBIT!"

The White Rabbit skated into the throne room as fast as he could from wherever he had been.

"Y-yes your Majesty!" he shouted, "What do you need?"

"I need the Hatter and the Hare here. Immediately."

"Yes, your Majesty," the Rabbit remarked, "but for what purpose?"

The Queen narrowed her eyes, "For the purpose of them being here NOW."

The Rabbit jumped, "Why, _yes_, your Majesty! Of course!"

With a quick turn, he went off to fetch the two tea-obsessed best friends.

* * *

Other than a few slurps and the quiet swallowing of biscuits, cakes, and crumpets, there had been nearly fifteen minutes of eerie almost-silence at the Hatter's tea table prior to the White Rabbit's arrival. The surrounding area was so quiet, in fact, that the White Rabbit bladed his way through Hatter's main gate half-thinking that the two friends were having their tea party inside for their own absurd reasons. Hatter swallowed a bite of a crumpet.

"Hey Rabbit!"

The White Rabbit jumped up and nearly lost his balance entirely.

"Oh! Oh my! Hatter, you scared me half to death! Why are you two so quiet? That's… abnormal for you."

Hare looked at Hatter, unsure of how to answer.

"Well," Hare began, "We, uh, ran out of things to talk about. That's all."

Rabbit raised a fluffy eyebrow, "Ah. In that case, the Queen wants to see you both as soon as possible, so you better come back with me."

"Why does she want to see us?" Hatter asked.

"To tell you the truth, Hatter, I'm really not sure, but she's quite adamant about it."

Hare stood up from the table, "Then I guess we'd better get going!"

Hatter put down his teacup and stood up, clapping his hands together. "Let's be off then!"

Rabbit and Hare nodded and the three left for the palace, hoping that the Queen was in one of her better moods.


	3. 2 Reflections

Alice paced her bedroom, which over the years had become less girly than it was a decade previously. The mirror, having been stored away, had been replaced by a tower of CDs and a guitar case. Stopping by her desk, Alice hesitated a moment and bit her lip before reaching for the cell phone charging on a stack of books on her desk. Alice unplugged it gingerly and plopped onto her bed. As if she could read Alice's mind, Dinah trotted in and jumped into Alice's lap. Not far behind were Dinah's kittens, Kitt and Snowdrop. Kitt was as black as newly paved streets, and Snowdrop was exactly the opposite, like powdered snow. Alice loved them both. The black one was a mischievous little thing, and Alice couldn't help but laugh as Kitt crawled on top of Snowdrop trying unsuccessfully to get on Alice's bed.

"C'mon, Kitt. That isn't very nice," Alice scolded. She scooped both kittens up tenderly and placed them next to her.

"There. You didn't have to crawl all over your sister, you know."

Kitt looked up and mewed.

"Aww…" Alice cooed.

Suddenly, the thought swept over her, brought up once more because of the felines in her presence. Alice hadn't confided to Dinah in a long time, but she used to…

"Dinah," Alice began, "I'm sorry I hardly see you anymore because of college."

The large cat responded with a low purr and curled into a ball near Alice's leg. Alice stroked her head fondly.

"I can't stop thinking about what my parents said earlier today. Mirror? Adventures? I mean, I remember having strange dreams like that. At least… I _thought _they were dreams. Were they, Dinah?"

Dinah looked up and trilled.

"I wish I knew if that was a yes or a no. But how could it be anything other than a yes? That's just logic."

Dinah meowed indignantly and put her head down. Alice glanced at the cellphone in her other hand and pressed the button that turned it on.

"I'm wondering if Kim knows anything about this whole thing. If my family knows, surely she'd know, right?"

Alice dialed Kim's number and waited for her best friend to answer. Dinah opened her eyes and watched, curious as ever. Seconds later, Kim picked up the line.

"Hello?"

"Hey! It's Alice!"

"Kim's voice brightened, "Oh hey, roomie! What's going on? Miss me? I hope you're having a happy birthday over there!"

"I am, thank you! Home's alright, relaxing."

"That's good to hear. So… what's up? You sound sort of… inquisitive. Frankly, I was going to call you before to wish you a happy birthday, I swear, but I got involved helping my mom and--"

"No no no! It's not that! I just had a question for you, actually."

"Well," Kim said, "Ask as many questions as you want. It's so much better than studying for Bio, that's for sure!"

Alice laughed. Kim was studying Biology as a requirement for a Pharmacy program, but she hated the class with a passion. It was rather ironic.

"You and Bio. Eternal enemies."

This time, Kim laughed.

"Anyway, Kim, I wanted to ask you… When we were kids, did I ever talk about adventures through a mirror or something like that?"

Alice bit her lip in anticipation. What was Kim going to think of _that_? Kim hummed on the other end, thinking back into the past.

"Oh!" Kim blurted, "Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm pretty sure you did!"

"I… did?"

"Yeah! You only mentioned it once or twice, but you totally did… Oh… What was the name of the place? It was weird… Gosh… Uh… No, Neverland is from that book. Um… Awe… Marvel… Wonder… Wander… Wonderland? Wonderland! It was DEFINITELY Wonderland!"

Thoughts paraded—no, _stampeded_-- through Alice's mind.

"It… sounds really familiar."

"It should!" Kim urged, "You told me a few funny stories about it. Something about tea parties, giant rabbits, and dancing twin brothers… All ruled over by a stubborn queen! You really should have made a point to write it down. It would have made an EXCELLENT book."

"Sounds like it! Too bad I can't remember it," Alice said. This was starting to depress her.

Kim agreed, "It's a shame how memories just get lost over time. It really is."

"Yeah," Alice sighed, "Everybody else remembers my stories except for me,"

"Ah, well, don't fret over it. I'm sure you'll remember _something_, right?"

"Perhaps, Kim, but anyway, thank you so much. I wasn't sure if it was just me or not. I'm glad I'm not totally crazy."

"Hah, you're welcome. Call back anytime so I don't have to go back to studying bio. Ugh. And when you get back here, I better have a piece of cake with my name on it!"

Alice laughed, "Sure thing, you can count on that! Thanks again! I'll see you in a few days."

"Okay, see you soon! Bye!"

"Bye!" Alice shut her phone and gave Dinah a rub on her furry stomach.

"Dinah, why does this all seem so familiar? Deep down, I feel like it wasn't a dream or a story, but I can't remember back that far and it just doesn't make any sense!"

Snowdrop crawled into Alice's lap, looked up, and called for attention.

"Well, I know it's all surreal, but I'll have a chance to find the mirror tomorrow and find out for certain. At least then I can put this to rest. I sound so silly!"

* * *

The White Rabbit, Mad Hatter, and March Hare arrived to find Her Majesty, the Queen of Hearts, on her throne, looking contemplative.

"Your Majesty!" Rabbit called, "The Hatter and the Hare are here, as you requested."

The Queen looked up and smiled at the duo.

"Come, come!" she waved.

"So…" began the Hare, "What did you need us for, your Highness? We did recently put in an ad for Hatter and Hare vacuuming services: You muck it, we suck it!"

The Queen smiled at him longer, which made both friends uneasy.

"I guess not." Hare remarked.

The Queen's glare and smile was unfaltering, "I was sitting here a few minutes ago, enjoying this wonderful book, when it was brought to my attention that YOU TWO--" she pointed a stern finger, "—were talking about Alice. And I want to know why."

The pair looked at each other in disbelief, yet both knew _whom_ it was that had brought their discussion to the Queen's attention. They were thinking of investing in an invisible dog. Named Spike.

"It's a funny story, your Highness…" Hare sputtered.

"Do I look like I'm laughing?"

Hare winced, "…You see, we were bored…"

"So we started talking about when Alice was around," Hatter interjected, "Yeah, and how much _fun_ it was…"

The Queen's voluptuous smile sulked into an angry frown.

"I thought I commanded all of Wonderland to not talk about her!"

"Your Majesty," Hatter prodded carefully, "Do you really believe that talking about Alice is some form of jinx and is stopping her from coming back?"

"I don't know, Hatter, but it pains me that she hasn't come back yet."

"Yet?" Hare stated, "What makes you think that after all this time she's coming back, well, _at all_?"

Hatter, Hare, and Rabbit all froze, as the Queen's lip trembled and her cheeks started to gain a rosy color. Rabbit tiptoed, on skates, into the palace.

"Hare," Hatter whispered, "I somehow think that wasn't the right thing to say."

Hare cowered, "I somehow think that you are very right, Hatter, and that we should stop talking about blondes and probably… RUN!"

The Hatter and Hare made a break for it, and both could be heard apologizing profusely as they did so,

"I'M SORRY YOUR MAJESTY! WON'T HAPPEN AGAIIIIN! NOPE! SORRYYYYY!"

"Chuckleheads…" The Queen mumbled, plopping back into the throne she had begun to lift out of, "They'll see, they'll see. I bet Alice is on her way right now, as a matter of fact!"

The Queen chuckled and picked her book back up.

She thought a few seconds and then frowned, "At least, I hope she is."

* * *

Along with the overly warm May air and Brian's non-stop talk of handheld video games, the ride to Grandma Liddell's was becoming more and more of a chore to Alice, and all she had to do was sit next to him. Once there, however, the weather cleared up and decided to be cheerful, and Brian, thank goodness, became occupied with setting up tables in the backyard. Alice's job was to gather all the items that were set aside in the house and bring them into the yard, where her mother and grandmother priced each item accordingly and put the item in a proper spot.

"So, where are the goods, Grandma?" Alice questioned.

Her mother was taking price tags out of their packaging and making a pile on the table. Alice's grandmother, Elizabeth, was scrounging around her purse for a few pens she knew she had in there somewhere. Ah! She found a few and put them next to Lorina's multicolor mountain of tags.

"They are in the living room, dear," Elizabeth said, turning to her granddaughter, "And if you get done with those, there's just a tad more in the attic. The junk up there needs more of a sorting than anything else, if you'd like to do that for me instead of being bored down here. We have more than enough help here with the Ehrmann's from next door lending a hand."

Alice was ready to deject the offer, as she wanted to help out too. She also knew that the attic was actually pretty clean for an attic, but the further back it went, the dustier it got… She would have rejected the offer outright if it hadn't been for the thought nagging in her mind once more…

_"Even that old mirror… I know it's somewhere…"_

Perhaps… it was in the attic. It _had_ to be.

"Sure, Grandma! I'll get right on up there after I finish bringing that other stuff out."

She couldn't wait. Finally, there was a chance to put that odd empty feeling behind her. Alice hurried inside, and within a half hour, she had the first part of her job done. It was time for her to get down and dirty—literally—with the attic.

Alice trotted upstairs, found the door, and began her excursion upwards. When she reached the top of the stairs, she rubbed her eyes, and stood for a minute to let them adjust to the dim light. After a little while, she found a window and opened it, which helped a considerable amount.

Grandma Liddell wasn't kidding. The attic was packed with boxes of different sizes and miscellaneous items that probably were just thrown up there in a rush. There were so many, but which ones to sort and which ones to carry down? Some were dustier than others, but all of them had bold writing on the sides. Alice decided it was a good idea to figure out what should be yard sale worthy based on the contents of each. She started with sorting three or four fairly large ones full of baby toys and made her way through school papers and ancient clothes. Floral jackets? Overalls? She actually _wore_ those? Oh the 90's…

After about two hours and a sufficient break, she had found that she had made a big dent in the attic, and she was proud of herself. However, she hadn't come across any reflective surfaces at all. _So much for taking up THIS job,_ she thought, _but at least I'm pretty much done. I think I'll do that tower of boxes over there and call it a day._

Right in the middle of her sea of sorted boxes had been an intermediate-sized stack of exceedingly dusty boxes. Alice sighed, brushed her hands off, and walked up the aisle she created. She reached up for the first box and took it down, expecting to see more boxes behind it.

Instead, she was faced with a large draped cloth.

She gasped. _"No... No way..."_ she whispered.

Alice swept the boxes off one another and scattered them to her sides, not caring where they were or if they were even sorted. A few boxes remained at her feet when she finally was able to see the draped object in full. She studied the cloth for a few seconds before sweeping it off and thrusting it to the floor.

The oval shape, every wooden curve… It was the mirror, _her_ mirror, the one she had been thinking about all weekend. Alice hadn't seen it in such a long time, but it was recognizable the moment she saw it. The past was slowly sinking in. She reached out and touched a fingertip to its graining and retracted her hand, leaving a small trail of dust behind. She leaned in closer to its surface and peered into its currently murky depths. It was much smaller than she remembered now, but then she reasoned that she too had been much smaller back then. For a full minute she stared at her face in the mirror, studying every slight curve of her cheek, every flick of her eyes, trying to discern herself from the younger one that knew this mirror better than she did now.

After a while, however, she noticed her face distorting and twisting. Was her face changing? Melting… upward? She thought she saw her mouth curve into a smile, but her mouth had no reason to be anything but frightened right then. She swore it started to grow bigger…

She fell backward in an alarmed gasp and blinked her eyes. After standing back up and regaining her composition, Alice took another glance at her dusty reflection. It was blurry because of the layer of grey powder, but otherwise she looked fine. _Stupid illusions, _she thought, _Must be the lighting in here… _She leaned in further, trying to figure out how she had seen such a weird face.

"Long time, no see!" Cooed a voice behind her.

Alice stood straight up and turned around quick enough to be face to—part of a face. Alice gasped and tried to scream, but she couldn't find the air. She attempted to back away before the hovering facial parts came any closer but it was too late! Her heel met the boxes on the floor and she lost her footing. Before she even knew what was going on at all or even anticipated the floor, she had already stumbled backward…

…right through the mirror.

* * *

A/N: And thus it _truly_ begins.

I need to work on chapter 3, but that probably won't be up for a while. My apologies. There are parts of this that I love to pieces and am really proud of, and other parts that sound really... fanfiction-y. You know, like, _"Edward stepped out and sparkled, his gorgeousity..."_ PUKE. I apologize for that too. heh.

Kim, Alice's friend in the Canon of the show, is never actually fleshed out in the series, so I did what any writer would do and based it on my ACTUAL friend Kim! I am an Alice. With a best friend named Kim. Kinda creepy.

The way Alice gets back to Wonderland was actually a dream I had where I got to Wonderland the same way. Only it was in my dorm. And my former roommate walked in and was like, "Where the f#* did she-- oh nevermind, I don't care! ^_^" I had a lovely time last year. :laughs:


	4. 3 A Hearty Welcome

Chapter Three: A Heart-y Welcome

Alice expected the worst. She was waiting for a hard, dusty floor, the cacophonous _crash_ of the broken mirror. There would be glass everywhere and possibly blood, if any shrapnel had caught her. A concussion was also possible, and dreaded as the worst injury. Instead, she felt like she fell for a full minute or so, and she landed on soft, lush grass. Grass? She panicked. _Oh my gosh, _she thought hastily, eyes squinted at the sky,_ I must have hit my head harder than I thought! Or the glass? _She imagined the very worst. Lifting herself to a sitting position, Alice turned her head to the ground and blinked her eyes a few times before letting them widen. Her head was slightly spinning.

"Oh _please _tell me I'm not dead!" she spoke aloud.

"Heh. I certainly hope not!" said that familiar voice from the attic. It then laughed, and the last few peals echoed.

Alice looked around wildly, but didn't see anyone or anything. This was certainly getting weird, albeit a bit _annoying._ She tossed her head about and then focused on a spot where she believed the voice had come from. She even concentrated her hardest, but nothing seemed to work. Whilst she stared off, the voice's source finally materialized... on the opposite side of her head.

"You don't remember, do you? I thought that might be the case."

Alice jerked her head to see behind her, startled. It was a cat-- a fairly large purple one at that. Dinah would have been very intimidated.

The feline in the air smiled, "The Queen isn't going to appurrrrreciate that, you know."

The blonde before him was starting to have a pretty nasty case of déjà vu.

"I remember you, Cat," she pointed excitedly, "I'm in Wonderland, aren't I?"

Cheshire grinned happily. Or, rather, perhaps he was just grinning. He did that quite frequently, Alice recalled.

"No place like it! I'm glad you remember the name. And mine too of course."

Alice tilted her head, "It was you, wasn't it? You're the one who scared me in the attic!"

"Cheshire Cat at your serrrrrvice," the feline purred, bowing, "You have no idea how long I've been coming around to check out the other end of that mirror, waiting for the darkness to go away."

Alice was taken aback at this, and felt a prick of sadness at it, "So... You've been waiting for me? For all these years?"

Cheshire looked her in the eyes and started to fade away, still smiling, "I wasn't the only one."

He was gone.

Alice felt as if she had let these people?-- once her best friends-- down, and, in a way, she most definitely had. But she was back now, and she was going to fix that pronto! As she wandered Wonderland, she came across a bridge over a lily-pad covered pond. After gazing into its beautiful depths, she continued on and came to a signpost with confusing and oft-contradicting directions. She took it upon herself to read every one, hoping it would reacquaint her with Wonderland's locations. Some of the signs weren't helpful at all, saying such things as "Here," "There," "WAY over there!," "UP," "Down," and even, "Somewhere," "Nowhere," and "Not here." Her favorite sign, she found, was a simple one near the bottom that read, "Mental help for sign painter."

She glanced over the ones that made sense to her and decided that she probably should prolong seeing the Queen as long as possible. From what the cat had said, Her Majesty would probably be quite cross with her, With this in mind, Alice decided to visit "Mad Tea Party." It was there that she had her fondest memories, and it was also the first place she would usually visit when she came to Wonderland. She could now remember at least that much.

When she came upon the Hatter's house and tea table, the Hatter himself was face-down on the table dozing. It was unusual for a person to sleep like this, even for Hatter, so Alice decided that her appearance was cause enough to wake him. She let herself into his "yard" and crept to the far side of the table, where her friend lay unconscious, arms dangling and mouth agape. He let out a soft snore and Alice tried her hardest not to laugh aloud, fearing she'd give herself away instantly. Hesitantly, she bent down to his level and reached her hand out to shake his upper arm.

"Mr. Hatter? Hey, sleepyhead!"

Hatter's eyes tightened and his gaping mouth pulled into a frown. Alice compared him to a land-stranded fish,

"Nyehh stoppit! Stupid... Hare."

Alice snickered, then put her hand to her mouth to stifle any noise that might escape it. She shook his shoulder again with her free hand.

She lowered her hand from her mouth slightly, "Mr. Hatter? It's me! Alice! Wake up, you bum!"

Hatter groaned and moved his arm, mostly to wipe off a line of drool that had trickled down a moment earlier. He noticed a figure in front of him, but automatically assumed it was Hare.

His eyes were still adjusting, and he blinked a few times, saying, "Man, I had the weirdest dream. Alice came back."

Alice couldn't help but smile and let out a quiet laugh. Hatter looked up in surprise.

"You ARE back!" he shouted, "Hi Alice!! Sorry you found me like this. I was looking over the table counting broken china chips because I was so bored and, well, my table can be pretty comfy. I guess I just went right out!"

Then he lifted himself up a little, contemplated her for a few seconds (in which he squinted a few times, Alice raising an eyebrow), and finally said, "You've, uh, _grown_."

Alice laughed, "I suppose I have, Mr. Hatter. I haven't been here in... well..."

"Nearly ten years." Hatter finished.

The look on Hatter's face wasn't at all sad or judging, in fact, he was still ecstatic that his friend had returned. Alice, however, frowned.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Hatter, I'm really just so sorry..." She hugged him awkwardly, seeing as he was still lounging belly-down on the table's surface.

"It's alright, Alice!" Hatter replied after she stepped back, "you're here _now _aren't you? That's something!" He smiled fondly.

Dormouse popped up out of his teapot home, and Hatter finally sat up and crossed his legs.

"Hey, Hatter? I thought I heard-- ALICE!" He squeaked happily as he realized she was beside him, "You're back! Yay!"

Dormouse bounced up and down out of his teapot. Alice patted his head.

"Hey Mr. Dormouse! Haven't seen you in a long time, but you're still as adorably small as I remember!"

Dormouse laughed, "You're not as small as I remember you! But thanks for the compliment!"

This time, both Hatter and Alice chuckled. Hatter reached for a free teapot to pour himself and Dormouse a cup of tea, he placed a cup in front of Alice.

"Want some tea, Alice?" he inquired.

Alice smiled, "I would love some, but I should really go find the others so they know I'm here. Do you know where they are? I expected Mr. Hare to be here with you."

Hatter shrugged, "I'm actually not sure myself. I was asleep ya know..."

Alice nodded, "Well, that makes perfect sense."

The Dormouse scratched his minute head, "I think I recall Hare saying something about croquet. I'll bet that's where he is, and probably with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum too. Did you pass the clearing in the woods near the Tweedles' house?"

Alice shook her head, "This is the only place I've been so far. I'll go there next! Hate to run, but I'll see you later for tea. Thanks, guys!"

Alice hurried off. Hatter and Dormouse watched until she disappeared into some foliage around a corner.

"That's somethin', isn't it, Dormy?" Hatter asked, "One moment we know this young girl, and it seems the next moment she's a young woman, just like THAT!" He snapped his fingers.

The mouse nodded in agreement, "I know, Hatter! It's definitely strange. She's a very beautiful young woman too, isn't she?"

Hatter cocked his head slightly, "Beautiful? Well, yeah. I guess. For a girl..."

"She's not a girl anymore, Hatter!"

"Yeah, but... She's always been our gal pal. I've never really thought of her as anything else but a little girl. With her all grown up, it's different. But she certainly has changed."

Dormouse took a sip of his tea, "I guess we'll have to get used to our older Alice, huh? I wonder if Hare and the Tweedles will even recognize her!"

Hatter chuckled, "How true that is!"

Alice was a little fuzzy on Wonderland's terrain after such a long time, but she soon had the hang of it with a little help from a signpost or two. With her bearings straight, it only took a few moments for her to find the open area of the forest where the Tweedles often hung out. Like the Dormouse predicted, the brothers were there in the middle of a fierce croquet match with the March Hare. As Alice came upon them, she watched the Hare stick his finger in his mouth, pull it out, and then lift it skyward. He made a calculating face and then positioned himself. Alice compared his stance to that of a golfer crossed with a thirsty giraffe. It took all she could not to laugh and give herself away (as well as ruin the Hare's concentration). She almost wished all of Wonderland was aware of her presence already, as she was tired of trying not to give away hiding spots.

The Tweedles, who were watching Hare for some time now, stood with their arms crossed and shaking their heads at the scene.

"Hare! Will you _please_ make a shot already? We can't wait here until Christmas!" Tweedle Dum said. His brother smiled.

Hare looked back at them, slightly confused, "Well of _course_ you can't wait there until Christmas. You'd probably be way too hungry! Not to mention with the snow, you'd be freezing your little--"

"HARE!" Dee interrupted, "Please make your shot so I can beat all of you on my next turn?"

Dum looked at him a tad put off, "Excuse me? _You're_ going to beat _me? _I don't think so, brother!"

"Well, if Hare hits his ball, we'll find out, now won't we?" said Dee smugly.  
Finally, the Hare positioned himself once more and took aim. He took a practice swing a few times and then hit the ball so hard that it ricocheted off a rock and a few trees, before landing closer to the intended wicket. Hare proudly tugged on the suspenders that were often hidden beneath his jacket.

"Nice shot!" Alice said, coming out of the bushes at last, "But shouldn't you have another player on your team?"

The brothers' faces lit up in instant recognition, but the March Hare placed a finger to his chin and seemed to be placing jigsaw pieces together in his mind.

Tweedle Dum stepped forward, "Oh my gosh! It's--!"

"NO NO NO, Don't tell me!" Hare said, stopping Dum with a hand, "I totally have this."

Dee and Dum looked at him incredulously. Alice joined them. After a little while the Hare's arms drooped.

"Okay. I got nothin'."

"Hare," Dee started, "It's Alice."

"But Alice is a little girl!" Hare said.

"I grew up, Mr. Hare. I was a little girl ten years ago."

Hare's face came up really close to her's and studied her. As if that didn't make her a bit uncomfortable, Dee came up and started to move her face around. Alice's eyes widened in wonder of what what was going on.

"See?" Dum pointed, as his brother kept her face in grip, "It's definitely her!"

Hare looked once more and then nodded, "Oh yeah! I totally see it now!"

Dee let go and Alice rubbed her cheeks gently.

"Geez, guys. Are you trying make me look like a Picasso painting or what?"

Before the guys could answer, another rustle of the bushes naturally announced that someone was nearby. A few seconds more gave in to the appearance of the White Rabbit, who rushed in on his rollerblades. More memories came flooding back to Alice, and she felt warm and nostalgic.

"Sorry I'm late!" the Rabbit proclaimed, "I hard the hardest time convincing the Queen that missing a fourth in croquet is much worse than saving the laundry for later..." he laughed a little, albeit awkwardly, and then stood up straighter.

"Eh, what's this? Do my eyes deceive me? Is that you, Alice?"

Alice nodded, her smile seemed to make her eyes brighter.

"Hi, Mr. Rabbit! Long time, no see!"

"No see, INDEED!" Rabbit said, "You know, The Queen has been worried sick about you! 'Long time, no see...' Bah! Ten years is too long. Have you seen Her Majesty yet?"

Alice shook her head, "I was thinking that it would be better to..."

"...Save the best for last!" Dum said quickly, saving Alice, "Isn't that right, Alice?"

"Of course!" Alice agreed, nodding her head fiercely.

The Rabbit raised a fuzzy eyebrow, "Well, that's all well and good, Alice, and I know you mean well, but I think we should probably go and see the Queen right now! You can finish your visits later."

"Oh, okay." Alice said. She didn't have much of a choice.

Dee looked at Dum, and, as if coming upon some silent agreement, both nodded.

"We'll come with you guys." Dee said.

"Me too!" Hare said, placing his croquet mallet on the ground.

"Then come on! Post haste! The Queen must know that Alice is back!" proclaimed the White Rabbit, and the group put their game on hold and followed Rabbit and Alice to the Palace.

In a matter of minutes, Rabbit, Alice, the Tweedle brothers, and the Hare were at the Palace gates and entered the garden. Rabbit hid Alice as well as he could behind him, but it was harder now, with Alice being slightly taller and wearing boots that only added to her height. Hatter appeared and walked up to the garden gate. He was about to loudly greet his friends, but Hare held a finger to his lips before his friend could say anything. Hatter tip-toed into the courtyard.

"Hey guys!" Hatter whispered, "What's with the shushing?"

Dum leaned over, "We're going to surprise the Queen with Alice's arrival. I can't wait to see her reaction!"

White Rabbit shot a glance at the party behind him and all conversation ceased.

"Your Maaaaajestyyyyy!" Rabbit called happily, "Someone is here to seeeee youuuuu!"

"Tell them to go away! I'm very busy right now," a voice called, "ESPECIALLY if it's that salesman for the Duchess' new line of merchandise again. I told him once and I'll tell him again..."

"No, no, Your Majesty! It's someone very special that I think you REALLY should come out and see."

"This better be good!" yelled the Queen from the throne room, "I JUST gave you off for croquet and was contemplating taking a nice relaxing bubble bath in the meantime and you come back and barge in here--"

The Queen entered the garden and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the sunlight highlighting strands of blond hair that had moved out from behind the Rabbit.

Alice curtsied. "Good afternoon, Your Majes--"

"ALICE!" The Queen exclaimed happily, hurrying towards the girl in question, "You're back! Oh! I knew you'd come back to visit me!"

The other Wonderlanders smiled as the Queen hugged Alice. It was the happiest they had seen her in a great while, and a happy Queen is the best kind to have.

"It's great to see you too, Your Highness!"

"Oh Alice," The Queen said with laughing eyes; suddenly her expression changed, and her eyes narrowed and mouth puckered, "Where have you been? Ten years! Do you know how worried I was about you? I thought you were never going to come back! Harumph!"

Alice cringed noticeably, "I'm really sorry, Your Majesty, but I grew up. I nearly... Well, I have a life to tend to outside of Wonderland. Please forgive me? I have every intention of visiting here more often now. I promise I will. I'm not going to let you-- any of you-- down again."

The speech was heartfelt, and Alice's old friends were touched. They gathered around and hugged her.

"Welcome back to the family!" Dee said with a wide smile.

"We're just glad you're okay!" Dum added.

"Just don't do it again!" remarked the Queen.

Alice tried as best as she could to hug her friends back, but there were too many friends to reach.

The Mad Hatter separated from the hug, causing everyone else near him to step back a little to encompass for space.

"I think this deserves a tea party! What do you all think?"

"Yeah!" Everyone agreed, and they took a few more steps back.

Music began playing, and the Wonderlanders begin to shout and cheer, welcoming Alice into Wonderland. She felt so happy to be with her friends again, as they began to sing:

"_Alice is back, it's a matter of fact!_

_And no one can stop us from singing aloud!_

_Alice is back, things are back in track,_

_Alice, oh Alice, you make us so proud!"_

Dee and Dum did a small dance in front of her, as she sat in a white chair in the garden.

"_We missed your face in Wonderland,_

_Days flew by and we felt sad."_

Rabbit jumped in for a verse of his own,

"_But now that you're here, you'll understand_

_That your presence makes us super glad!"_

The Queen danced up behind them and they parted so she could be in front to sing.

"Alice, without you, we felt lost

_I was about ready to decree:_

'_Bring back Alice at any cost!'_

_Your appearance deserves a tea party!"_

Hatter and Hare smiled and joined the Queen on either side. Hare sang two verses and his friend sang two more.

"_A tea party? I believe we can help with that!_

_We'll get it ready, don't you fret, Your Majesty!_

_Indeed we will, and I'll swear on my hat,_

_That Alice deserves a special-tea for her tea!"_

All of Alice's friends grouped around her and lifter her up in the chair, swirling her around,

"_Alice is back, it's a matter of fact!_

_And no one can stop us from singing aloud!_

_Alice is back, things are back in track,_

_Alice, oh Alice, you make us so proud!"_

They placed Alice down and everyone cheered and clapped.

Hatter put a gloved hand to his chin and thought a second, before grinning toothily. "I know just the thing for this party, too! A specialty special tea just for this occasion! Alice's return!"

Hare jumped in excitement, "I know just the tea you're thinking of, Hatter! Let's all head back so we can put the kettle on right away!"

"Right!" Hatter proclaimed, "C'mon, everyone! To the tea table!

* * *

A/N: Merry Christmas, everyone! I'm sooooo sorry it took so long to get this up, but I really hope you enjoyed it! I've been missing from here and DeviantArt lately, but that's about to change! Nanowrimo got me kicking on this, and it's winter break for me now, so expect tons of art updates on DA!

And, by the way, you're allowed to laugh at my song. I won't be offended. I told myself I wouldn't write one because there are already a couple already-known songs I'm putting in a few places (I'm sorry if you hate that sort of thing ), but... but... It was the perfect place for a song, and I just couldn't see them NOT singing about Alice coming back. So... There you have it. Haha.


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